The heavy silence of the Catacombs was broken only by my exhausted sigh. I remained seated on the cold stone floor, staring up at the dark ceiling as I tried to come to terms with the gap between the Echo of Kushina's strength and my own, as well as the reality that I had just burned four precious days away.
"So, the mighty do fall," a deep, rumbling voice echoed in my mind.
I groaned, rubbing my temples as Kurama decided this was the perfect time to offer his commentary.
"You're acting like you've never lost to her chains before," I responded.
The massive fox scoffed, but he conveniently chose not to argue the point. Instead, he shifted the subject. "What is your move now? Your grand plan to attain the chains before the finals has fallen through."
"Not getting the chains before the Finals ain't the end of the world," I replied, pushing myself up off the floor and dusting off my pants. "The plan was always to finish these trials early and use the remainder of the time to level up and prepare for the invasion. Nothing has changed. I just have a lot less free time to myself now, is all."
I stretched my neck until it popped. "With just three days left, it's time to use this moment to put the finishing touches on things."
I activated my [WAYPOINT ANCHOR ORB] and teleported out of the catacombs, returning to the surface of the Uzushio mainland. The late afternoon sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon, casting a golden hue over the ruins.
I opened my inventory and deployed my [CASTLE DOMAIN].
The massive spatial distortion rippled through the air, and the towering Gothic fortress slammed down onto the courtyard. I stepped through the iron gates, letting the domain's instantaneous recovery wash over me.
As I walked into the courtyard, the shadows across the cobblestone rippled. Dozens of my [SHADOW SOLDIERS] spontaneously materialized from the ground, dropping to one knee.
I blinked in genuine surprise. "Were y'all in this castle the whole time?" I asked as more Soldiers began to make an appearance. "How's that even possible? I hadn't deployed it."
[NOTICE: CASTLE DOMAINS FUNCTION AS A PERMANENT SAFE HAVEN FOR YOUR SHADOW ARMY.]
[SHADOW SOLDIERS CAN AUTOMATICALLY TRANSPORT THEMSELVES INTO THE DOMAIN FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD IF THEY SENSE THAT YOU ARE IN A PRECARIOUS SITUATION, OR IF THEIR OWN PHYSICAL FORMS ARE CRITICALLY DESTABILIZED.]
[FURTHERMORE, ESTABLISHED CASTLE DOMAINS SERVE AS PERMANENT, INSTANTANEOUS TELEPORTATION WAYPOINTS FOR THE PLAYER WITHOUT THE NEED TO PURCHASE ANCHOR ORBS.]
I let out a long whistle. "Ah, the gift that keeps on giving," I smirked.
Now I have an automatic emergency eject button, I mused, nodding in satisfaction. I can also utilize this in battles against very tough opponents.
Except for the slight hiccup with the trial, everything had been going rather smoothly. But even so, it was time to finally get back to the village.
I seamlessly teleported back to the inside of my apartment.
After taking a quick shower, I decided to step out into the village to see what I missed during the week and to get some ramen before putting the finishing touches on my final preparations.
I had expected the place to be lively, but I didn't expect it to look like a festival was taking place. The atmosphere was unrecognizable compared to just a week ago. Colorful banners hung from the buildings, merchant stalls were overflowing with exotic goods, and tourists, nobles, and dignitaries from across the continent flooded the thoroughfares.
But beneath the loud chatter and the smell of street food, my [SENSE] stat picked up a totally different vibe. Hidden within the crowds were dozens of disguised Sound and Sand shinobi, radiating a suffocating, tightly coiled tension.
So, his guys are already settled in, I thought. That's fine. I can use them to uncover their meeting points and—
"Hey, boss!" a voice rang out.
I paused, looking down an alleyway to see Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi running up to me.
"Boss!" Konohamaru grinned, adjusting his oversized goggles. "Where've you been?! The Finals are in three days! You aren't taking it easy are ya? You need to focus up and win!"
"Win?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. "I'm gonna dominate little ninja. Don't worry you'll see that for yourselves."
"No we won't," Moegi pouted, kicking at the dirt. "We have to attend the academy while the Finals go on. "
I stared at them for a second before bursting into laughter. "Hahahahaha, sucks to suck!" I cackled, pointing a finger right at their miserable faces.
"Hey! That's mean!" Moegi yelled, her face turning red while Konohamaru grumbled.
"But you really do have to win," Udon said. "Konohamaru put—"
"Hey don't tell him that. I was going to ease him into it," Konohamaru whispered, cutting Udon off with a shushing gesture.
"Ease me into what?" I questioned, watching as Konohamaru started to sweat.
"I-It's n-nothing, really," he stuttered. "I just happen to—"
"He bet everything he owned to everyone in the academy that you were going to win your matches and the Finals," Moegi let out, the tension killing her. "So, you have to win!"
"You did?!" I asked, staring at the boy in disbelief.
Haha, what the fuck? I laughed internally. Even the young ones are making bets. What a world.
"He was confident, until Ino Yamanaka said you were taken it easy when they saw you," Udon explained. "Which made Konohamaru start to worry, especially when he couldn't find you for weeks on end."
"Where have you been, Boss?!" Konohamaru asked while latching onto me. "You just have to win! You have to save me!"
Man that girl loves to yap, I thought, wrangling the boy off me.
"Alright, alright," I sighed, finally getting out of his vise-like grip. "It's not like I was planning on losing, this'll just be another added bonus. You've got nothin' to worry about."
"Really?!" Konohamaru responded with an elated expression. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. You're the greatest!"
"Yea, I know," I said, waving them off as I turned to walk away. "You'll hear the results from the amazed audience. Until then, try to stay out of trouble."
As I left, my mind shifted to the actual tournament. Poor kids, they don't even know that his bet won't even matter in the end, I thought. However, it does bring up one crucial thing I haven't thought about much.
I looked up at the direction of the Hokage Monument.
When the invasion kicks off right in the middle of the matches, how will it affect the Chunin rankings? I questioned. Will the results be void?System, what'll happen to the quest if the tournament gets canceled halfway through?
[NOTICE: IN THE EVENT OF A CATASTROPHIC TOURNAMENT INTERRUPTION, THE QUEST PARAMETERS WILL ADAPT.]
[NEW CRITERIA: THE PLAYER'S FINAL RANKING WILL BE EVALUATED BASED ON THEIR OVERALL CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEFENSE OF THE VILLAGE, THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS, AND THE ELIMINATION OF HIGH-VALUE ENEMY TARGETS DURING THE INVASION.]
Perfect, I thought with a nod. Now I really have to dominate.
I arrived at Ichiraku Ramen a few minutes later, pausing as I took in the sight. To my surprise, the stall had been significantly expanded, with a wraparound counter and several more seats added in.
When did this happen? I wondered, pushing past the flaps and taking a seat at the end of the stall.
"Naruto!" Teuchi beamed, wiping his hands on his apron. Ayame peeked out from the back, her face lighting up.
"It feels like we haven't seen you in forever!" Ayame laughed, setting a glass of water down in front of me.
"I've been busy gearing up for the Finals," I said, offering a polite smile. "Place looks… busy. What happened?"
"It's all thanks to those new ramen recipes you've been giving us!" Ayame beamed proudly. "Business has been booming, and with the influx of tourists for the Exams, it was the perfect time to expand!"
I nodded, genuinely glad to see them thriving, and put in an order for two large bowls of pork miso.
As I waited for my food, I closed my eyes and tapped into my [SHADOW LINK], filtering through the memories of the Soldiers that had been deployed around the village over the last week.
The first memory feed came from a shadow that watched as Kabuto was confronted by a squad of Anbu. In a matter of seconds, the bespectacled medic effortlessly slaughtered the elite black-ops ninja, leaving their bodies in a heap.
Damn, I whistled internally as I analyzed his precise, lethal movements. He really is at the same skill level as Kakashi, even if he does look like a massive nerd. And these Anbu are kinda trash for losing with the numbers advantage on their side. But I guess when you're stronger it just doesn't matter. Something I know very well from facing those A-Rank Bosses.
I shifted to the next feed, which focused on Rock Lee. The green-clad Genin had steadily returned back to mild training, although he was still recovering from the muscle strain from using the Eight Gates.
Curiously, my mind immediately shifted the link to the Soldier that was tracking Gaara. When I did, my vision was instantly flooded with blood.
Over the last few days, Gaara had grown incredibly antsy. In canon, he had tried to assassinate Lee in the hospital to prove his own existence. But that ended up getting thwarted by Naruto and Shikamaru. This time when he attempted it, he couldn't because Guy was constantly hovering around Lee, so the redhead had resorted to wandering the village at night.
I watched the memories of him mercilessly crushing Dosu—whom he had stalked because he didn't get to finish crushing him during their match-up—followed by the brutal, unprovoked murders of a Stone ninja, a Grass ninja, and a Sound Genin who had simply looked at him wrong.
Goddamn, he's just stacking kill streaks left and right, huh? I mused, shaking my head as the feed cut out.
Then, I observed Orochimaru's spies already hiding among the civilian populace. They had laid out specific entryways at the village walls that Orochimaru had likely told them about for the Sound and Sand ninja to sneak through during the invasion—structural weak points I fully intended to use to my advantage when the time came.
I was just about to review what the Cloud and Stone shinobi had been up to when a voice broke my concentration.
"You've never sat still this calmly before."
I opened my eyes, turning my head slightly to the left, and saw that Iruka had just taken the seat next to me.
I squinted for a moment, waiting for my mind to fully pause the internal memory feeds. Iruka seemed to take my delayed, blank stare as me not recognizing him.
He offered a sad, nostalgic smile as he sat down. "Before your accident... we used to come here all the time."
"Oh," I said flatly, turning back to the two steaming bowls of ramen that Teuchi had just set down. "That's... interesting to know."
Iruka ordered his food, and a thick, suffocating silence settled between us. I began eating fast, hoping to just finish my meal and get the hell out of there.
"So," Iruka started, trying to force a conversational tone. "I heard you made it to the Finals. That's a major accomplishment, Naruto. You should be proud."
"Mhmm," I replied, not looking up from my bowl.
"Are you... feeling confident about your match?" he asked.
"Very," I responded.
Iruka frowned, clearly struggling with my one-word responses. He was trying his best to connect with the energetic, loudmouth kid he remembered, but he wasn't here.
I just couldn't connect with him like the original Naruto did.
When I reincarnated into this dying body, I came in with my own memories, my own personality, and my own detached perspective. To me, Iruka was honestly no different from the rest of the villagers. He had hated Naruto for years without probable cause, just like everyone else, before eventually getting over it. The original Naruto had been so desperate for someone to connect to that he instantly look past that.
The original Naruto was pure-hearted and could be very understanding of others, I thought, slurping my noodles. In fact, I think he was a bit too pure-hearted, to the point where he allowed blatant disrespect from various people at the cost of his own well-being. However, I, for one, am the complete opposite. I'm a person who firmly believes that respect is a two-way street. I'll be damned if I let someone disrespect me for free, especially if I'm being extremely respectful.
"Naruto..." Iruka sighed, putting his chopsticks down. "I know the accident with the paper tag changed you. I know things may feel a lot different now. But I want you to know that I'm still here for you. You can talk to me."
I stopped chewing. I swallowed my food, set my chopsticks neatly across the bowl, and finally turned to look him dead in the eyes.
"Look man, I hear ya, but everything you're saying is kinda falling on deaf ears," I said, in a tone completely devoid of emotion.
Iruka's eyes widening in shock and hurt. "Naruto... what do you mean?"
"I get that you and who I was previously were close and all," I continued, my tone chillingly calm. "But he's not here anymore. That's the fact of the matter, and it's something you need to get used to."
Iruka just sat there, completely stunned. I could tell he was searching for something to say, but he just couldn't get anything out.
I let out a soft sigh. Was that harsh? Yea, but pretending that everything was completely amicable would have been terrible, I believed.
"Aye, don't beat yourself up," I said, my voice softening just a fraction. "From what I've seen from you so far, you seem like a really swell guy. I just don't know you like that, is all."
I stood up from the stool, reached into my inventory, and pulled out a massive stack of Ryo. I dropped the heavy wad of cash onto the counter—way more than enough to cover my food and his.
[-5,000 Ryo]
[RYO BALANCE: 56,345,100 → 56,340,100 RYO]
"Enjoy lunch on me," I said, offering a brief nod. "Consider it a token of gratitude from me for your recent past actions towards my previous self."
I turned my back on him and walked out of the stall, glad to be out of that incredibly awkward situation.
I turned my back on him and walked out of the stall, letting the cool evening breeze wash over me. I was glad to be out of that incredibly awkward situation, but my mind quickly shifted back to business. I started to head home to put key pieces into play, but as I walked, I sifted through the last few memory feeds from my shadow network.
Two distinct pieces of intel caught my attention.
The first was the location of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. His massive, ridiculously lavish entourage had just settled into a highly secure VIP compound near the center of the village.
I should probably drop a Soldier into the shadow of one of his personal guards, I mused, rubbing my chin. Having eyes and ears on the supreme ruler of the nation would give me an insane amount of political leverage and insight into how this country actually operates.
But the second memory feed—the layout of the newly renovated Chunin Exam stadium—piqued my immediate curiosity. I ultimately decided that familiarizing myself with the battlefield took priority over playing global politics, and altered my route toward the massive arena.
When I finally reached the stadium grounds, the sun had fully set, casting long shadows over the towering concrete walls. The place was heavily guarded by Anbu and Chunin patrols, but I was able to use [STEALTH] to slip past them and find a vantage point high up in the spectator stands.
I looked down at the arena floor and internally let out a low whistle in appreciation.
They really went all out for this, I thought, genuinely impressed.
The battlefield was massively expanded compared to the one utilized in the original timeline.
They must have used some of the Land of Spring's expanding technology to structure this place, I mused, taking a look at the terrain.
On the far left side, a dense cluster of tall, thick trees had been grown, creating a miniature forested zone. On the right, a shallow but wide basin of water had been carved into the stone floor, offering an environmental advantage to anyone who knew how to use it.
Furthermore, I could clearly see the faint, glowing script of high-tier, chakra-absorbing fuinjutsu seals etched into the reinforced boundary walls.
Ah, the village leaders probably came up with this solution to stop any harm from happening to the civilians watching the matches, I assumed. And this place could also be used as a temporary bunker if things get really bad. They really thought things through huh? I guess they'll be a step ahead of—
[WARNING: EXTREME HOSTILE INTENT DETECTED.]
My [SENSE] flared so hard it felt like alarm bells were ringing in my skull. The density of the killing intent was suffocating, and it wasn't coming from inside the stadium. It was leaking out from a dark, narrow alleyway just outside the arena's exterior walls.
I instantly activated [STEALTH] and leaped from the stadium roof, silently dropping down into the shadowy streets below.
The metallic tang of fresh blood hit my nose before I even reached the alley.
I crept forward, peering around the brick corner.
The alleyway was completely painted in crimson. Two Sound Genin—likely spies sent by Orochimaru to scout the stadium—were plastered against the dead-end wall, no longer breathing. Their bodies were horribly mangled, twisted at impossible angles as if they had been put through an industrial meat grinder.
Standing in the center of the carnage was Gaara.
The Sand Jinchuriki was hunched over, his hands clutching his head as he trembled violently. Thick, blood-soaked sand swirled around his feet like a living, breathing entity.
"More... Mother needs more blood..." he rasped, his voice a terrifying, demonic double-tone that made me chuckle internally.
'More blood,' I mocked internally. That always makes me laugh. Like, what is he? A vampire?
I watched as the sand began to slowly creep up the alley walls, searching for another victim to satisfy the One-Tails' insatiable bloodlust.
"How pitiful, he's completely losing himself,"Kurama's voice rang out in my mind.
"Yep, and it's all because of your friend's doing," I replied mentally.
"He is not my friend!"Kurama responded with a snarl. "He's just a weakling that likes to toy with his hosts."
"Even so, I can't allow him to go on an all out rampage mere days before the Finals," I responded, watching as Gaara's movements got more sporadic. "And if he does go on an all-out rampage, Orochimaru might use the opportunity to trigger the invasion early."
I deactivated [STEALTH] and stepped out from the dark recesses of the alley.
Gaara suddenly froze, feeling my abrupt presence.
The swirling sand instantly snapped to attention, hovering in the air like dozens of loaded spears. Slowly, the redhead turned around, his pale sea-green eyes locking directly onto me.
A wide, unhinged, bloodthirsty smile stretched across his face.
"Finally found you..." he said, as the sand flared violently around him.
My eyes glowed with a faint yellow light as I stared down the murderous Jinchuriki.
"Well," I said, hands resting comfortably in my pockets. "You've been real busy now, haven't you?"